Patriots mailbag: Biggest winners and losers from first week of training camp

Patriots training camp is officially one week old Let s dive into readers questions in our weekly mailbag JuicePickm Who s your biggest winner and biggest loser thus far If I m giving my true biggest winner right now it would be cornerback D J James a practice squad participant from last season who seems to make a pass breakup or two every practice He also had the first interception of camp The Seahawks sixth-round pick is making a strong incident for a roster spot Related Articles Patriots place rookie fullback on injured reserve sign linebacker Josh McDaniels incorporating QB athleticism into Patriots offense Christian Gonzalez Carlton Davis injuries put unheralded Patriots corners in spotlight Patriots training camp Day takeaways Stefon Diggs grabs two touchdowns on down Drake Maye day Why Mike Vrabel compared Patriots Hunter Henry to former Titans All-Pro But out of I guess more relevant players wide receiver Kayshon Boutte rookie offensive lineman Jared Wilson and veteran edge defender K Lavon Chaisson have all had strong starts to camp As far as biggest losers Ja Lynn Polk didn t help his event for a roster spot by missing the first four days of practice with a soft tissue injury Undrafted rookie slot receiver Efton Chism has barely been involved and tight end Jaheim Bell a seventh-round pick is buried on the depth behind Hunter Henry Austin Hooper Jack Westover Gee Scott Jr and CJ Dippre Ontheclockfant What would your prediction for the WR pecking order who makes the roster If I m only allowed six players then I ll go with Stefon Diggs DeMario Douglas Boutte Kyle Williams Kendrick Bourne and Mack Hollins Top candidates for a seventh spot would be Chism Polk and Javon Baker Polk has certainly had certain decent moments in his return to practice He looks smooth And Baker made a highlight play Tuesday picking the ball off of cornerback Marcellas Dial s helmet for a touchdown from Joshua Dobbs jakefromcph Honest opinion on Maye There is a lot of hype obviously but when I see the completion numbers from the beat writers it looks like he is completing only around of his passes I think the Patriots are being intentional with Drake Maye Outside of several botched snaps Maye has protected the ball well and done a lot of short passing He made a couple of highlight throws to Williams and Diggs on Tuesday but he s also had several issues with accuracy I think turnovers were a predicament for Maye last season so his avoidance of interceptions has been a good sign I d like to see him uncork the ball a little bit more in practice and be more decisive But overall I think it s been a solid if unspectacular start to camp for Maye Quarterback Drake Maye of the New England Patriots and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels during a training camp drill in Foxboro on Tuesday Photo By Matt Stone Boston Herald kdot After practices what is your starting OL based on what you ve seen Typically the top unit is Will Campbell at left tackle Cole Strange at left guard Garrett Bradbury at center Mike Onwenu at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle so that would be the safe answer But Jared Wilson is receiving every practicable opportunity to take a starting job at center or left guard Caedan Wallace is also seeing reps at left guard and Demontrey Jacobs regularly spells Moses at right tackle I ll go out on a limb and guess that Wilson earns a starting job before Week His natural position is at center but I could see the Patriots being hesitant to thrust a rookie into such an pivotal role after signing a veteran like Bradbury The left guard job seems more attainable to win BostAngeles Could the RT position be the biggest concern for the OL I don t think so I would still say that left tackle left guard or center are bigger concerns Moses hasn t had the greatest start to training camp but he s a pro and a gamer I think he settles down as the summer goes along Prostarr Is Will Campbell the approach at LT What is new about the offence that is noticeable Yes I do believe Campbell is the response at left tackle He s had certain ups and downs through the first two days of padded practices but overall the unit is impressed with their No overall pick On Monday he was put on his butt during -on- drills but settled in the squad session during pass protection and run blocking On Tuesday he lost a rep during half-line drills and in pass protection during -on- s but won two -on- matchups So even when he s struggled he s shown positives in the next breath And as for what is bulk noticeably different about the offense McDaniels is allowing his quarterbacks to show mobility on bootlegs and read options L lawr Anything on the day rookies Plenty Safety Craig Woodson got beat by Stefon Diggs during -on- s Tuesday but has been featured at free safety and in the third-down defense Defensive tackle Joshua Farmer has seen a few reps in the first-team defense but didn t practice Tuesday Defensive end Bradyn Swinson has gotten into the backfield at times but has been running with the third-string defense Andres Borregales was -of- on kicks Tuesday after going -of- earlier in camp Offensive tackle Marcus Bryant spent most of of camp at left tackle but got various work at right tackle on Tuesday Long snapper Julian Ashby has no competition and cornerback Kobee Minor has been playing outside on the third-team defense He got into a brief scrap Monday originaldbb Jared Wilson is a Center and Cadan Wallace is a RT Wouldn t it make more sense to keep playing them there and not out of position That doesn t help their growth just plugs holes you haven t filled elsewhere Playing football helps a football athlete s expansion even if it s not at their natural position We also don t necessarily know what Wilson and Wallace are in the NFL Wilson was a guard before moving to center at Georgia so there s familiarity in that role I do agree that I d prefer to see Wallace at right tackle as the backup over Jacobs But if the Patriots think he could potentially win the starting left guard role then that would get him on the field sooner pats levelpod Is there a chance that Drake Maye is the only draft pick that makes the final roster There s a chance but I wouldn t say it likely at this point If I were putting together a -man roster projection right now Wallace would be on it and Dial looks like the backup slot cornerback But it s not a great sign no one outside of Maye is a first-team starter jbball Most of likely bargain candidate in WR room Maybe Polk If by the end of the summer he s not within the top six or seven wide receivers then maybe the Patriots could still get certain value by trading him to a squad that liked him last season Second-round picks don t typically lose all value